Cordell Wynn, 1927-2010

Title

Cordell Wynn, 1927-2010

Subject

Civic leaders

Educators

College presidents

African-American--History--Tuscaloosa

Description

Dr. Cordell Wynn was president of Stillman College for 15 years beginning in 1982 and enrollment at the predominantly black liberal arts school almost doubled to more than 1,000 students under his leadership.

A native of Eatonton, Ga., Wynn was dean of education at Alabama A&M when he was named president of Stillman. The Tuscaloosa college was losing enrollment at the time and there was talk it might be closed.

"It wasn't just a set of circumstances, it was by God's design that brought him to Stillman, and he was the person we needed at just that right time," Sarah Davis, longtime assistant and eventual vice president for administration under Wynn, told The Tuscaloosa News. In addition to leading Stillman for 15 years, Wynn became a state and local civic leader.

Wynn served as chairman of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority board. He served as a member of the Alabama Ethics Commission and was former president of the United Negro College Fund Board.

He started his career as a teacher in the Bibb County, Ga., school system. Wynn wrote the desegregation plan for the system as an assistant superintendent.

He later was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to a national advisory committee on education and was a consultant for desegregation of schools for President Richard Nixon.
When Wynn came to Stillman, he brought a new energy and began to rebuild relationships with the community, alumni and the nearby University of Alabama, said R.L. Guffin, a professor at Stillman for 44 years.

In 2002, he was inducted into the Tuscaloosa County Civic Hall of Fame by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.